Mystery blast hits Iranian nuclear province

Published on 17/02/2005 00:20

TENSION soared in the Middle East yesterday when a mysterious explosion was heard in a southern Iranian province in which a nuclear plant is sited.

It came as allies Iran and Syria - both jittery over sabre-rattling by the United States - pledged to form a "common front" to face threats from abroad.

There was confusion over the cause of the blast which was said to have occurred near the town of Daylam. Iranian TV reports of the explosion caused crude oil prices to jump and US stock market futures to fall.

Eyewitnesses claimed to have seen a missile fired by a plane in the area, but others said the blast - 100 miles from the Bushehr nuclear plant - was caused by a fuel tank dropped from an Iranian plane.

An interior ministry official said the explosion might have been caused by "friendly fire" but the Iranian authorities later claimed the blast was part of work during the construction of a dam. Earlier in the day, Iran had accused the US of flying unmanned surveillance drones over its nuclear sites.

Ali Yunesi, Iran’s intelligence minister, said such US spying activities have been going on for a "long time". Iran’s air force had been ordered to shoot down any unknown or suspicious aircraft.

"Most of the shining objects that our people see over Iran’s airspace are American spying equipment used to spy on Iran’s nuclear facilities," Mr Yunesi said.

Tehran’s nerves have also been frayed since the US pledged to sell Israel bunker-busting bombs capable of hitting underground nuclear facilities.

Israel - whose planes raided an Iraqi nuclear reactor at Osiraq in 1981 - ratcheted up the pressure on Iran yesterday by claiming the Islamic republic was only six months away from having the knowledge to build a nuclear bomb. "They are trying very hard to develop this nuclear bomb," said Silvan Shalom, Israel’s foreign minister, during a visit to London.

Iran and Syria’s pledge to form a "common front" will be viewed ominously in Washington. The strategic alliance dealt deadly blows to US forces and interests in Lebanon in the early 1980s and was instrumental in finally driving Israeli occupation forces from southern Lebanon in 2000.

Iran’s promise to help was made by Mohammad Reza Aref, a low-profile vice-president, and in one sense, analysts said, the pledge was not new as the two countries have long been close.

"To an extent it’s rhetoric and it’s certainly defensive in tone. But at the same time the Iranians have committed themselves to helping Damascus if America does something there, and the Americans are going to hate this," a European diplomat in the region said.

Tehran and Damascus may feel they need each other more than ever, now both are the target of increasingly strident rhetoric from the US, which has forces on the doorstep of both countries.

Together, Iran and Syria retain strong influence in Lebanon and have the ability to destabilise Iraq further. Despite Syrian denials, many in the Iraqi government believe Syria has given refuge to leading members of Saddam Hussein’s family and intelligence services that are suspected of directing the insurgency from Damascus.